Loggerhead Sea Turtle Snooki Splashes Down at the Minnesota Zoo

Have you heard the news? Snooki has officially splashed onto the scene at the Minnesota Zoo!

Weighing more than 300 pounds and full of personality, Snooki is a loggerhead sea turtle who arrived at the Zoo in October 2025. After a behind-the-scenes adjustment period, she is now making waves in Discovery Bay’s Shark Reef habitat.

Rescued loggerhead sea turtle Snooki swims at the Minnesota Zoo.

How did Snooki arrive at the Minnesota Zoo?

Though she’s new to the Zoo, Snooki’s story began nearly a decade ago when she was found stranded along the New Jersey shoreline. After her rescue, she received expert care at a sea turtle rehabilitation center in North Carolina but was deemed unable to return to the wild due to positive buoyancy — a condition that prevents her from diving down into deep water. The Minnesota Zoo stepped up to provide a forever home that meets her complex care needs.

Since her arrival, Snooki has been adjusting swimmingly and working with Zoo aquarists to learn new skills, like target training, that will help support her wellbeing. Snooki has proven to be a fast learner, swimming right up to her target and touching it with her mouth to earn her favorite reward: squid or clam. She’s also discovered a love for “sun”-bathing, spending hours basking beneath a new high-powered UV light.

In her new home, sea turtle Snooki is exploring an environment far bigger than any she’s known in years. She shares her 250,000-gallon habitat with a diverse group of aquatic neighbors, including sand tiger sharks, a whitetip reef shark, green moray eels, stingrays, and hundreds of colorful fish.

Minnesota Zoo Foundation donors support animals like Snooki

From individualized medical care to training and habitat customization, Foundation donors like you not only help bring rescued wildlife like Snooki to the Zoo — you also support the ongoing, daily care they need to live long, healthy lives. Thank you!